Author: K Mayberry, educator, Minnesota Alliance for Geographic EducationGrade/Audience: grade 8, high schoolResource type: lessonSubject topic(s): migration, maps, historyRegion: united statesStandards: Minnesota Social Studies Standards

Standard 2. Geographic inquiry is a process in which people ask geographic questions and gather, organize and analyze information to solve problems and plan for the future.

Standard 5. The characteristics, distribution and migration of human populations on the earth’s surface influence human systems (cultural, economic and political systems).

Standard 7. The characteristics, distribution and complexity of the earth’s cultures influence human systems (social, economic and political systems).

Standard 14. Globalization, the spread of capitalism and the end of the Cold War have shaped a contemporary world still characterized by rapid technological change, dramatic increases in global population and economic growth coupled with persistent economic and social disparities and cultural conflict. (The New Global Era: 1989 to Present)

Standard 8. Processes of cooperation and conflict among people influence the division and control of the earth’s surface. Objectives: Students will be able to:

1. Read and analyze maps.
2. Use evidence, including maps and readings, to explain the background to and causes of the Somalia civil war.
3. Use evidence, including oral interviews and readings, to explain why many Somalis migrated to Minnesota in a reflection essay.Summary: Minnesota currently has the highest percentage of Somali people in the U.S., and the vast majority of the students that I teach are of Somali descent. It is important for Somali-Americans to know their own history. With this in mind, students will complete a guided inquiry lesson using maps, primary sources, and secondary sources to answer the question: Why did so many people migrate from Somalia to Minnesota? This question is multifaceted. First, students need to understand the background to the Somalia conflict. Next, they need to understand why many Somalis chose Minnesota as their newest home.

Nigeria has the largest population in Africa. As of 2025, the country counted over 237.5 million individuals, whereas Ethiopia, which ranked second, has around 135.5 million inhabitants. Egypt registered the largest population in North Africa, reaching nearly 118.4 million people. In terms of inhabitants per square kilometer, Nigeria only ranked seventh, while Mauritius had the highest population density on the whole African continent in 2023. The fastest-growing world region Africa is the second most populous continent in the world, after Asia. Nevertheless, Africa records the highest growth rate worldwide, with figures rising by over two percent every year. In some countries, such as Chad, South Sudan, Somalia, and the Central African Republic, the population increase peaks at over 3.4 percent. With so many births, Africa is also the youngest continent in the world. However, this coincides with a low life expectancy. African cities on the rise The last decades have seen high urbanization rates in Asia, mainly in China and India. African cities are also growing at large rates. Indeed, the continent has three megacities and is expected to add four more by 2050. Furthermore, Africa's fastest-growing cities are forecast to be Bujumbura, in Burundi, and Zinder, Nigeria, by 2035.

Abstract

The North East Zone Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) is a household survey programme conducted in 2011 by the Puntland State of Somalia Ministry Planning and International Cooperation with technical and financial support from UNICEF.

MICS was conducted as part of the fourth global round of MICS surveys (MICS4). It provides up-to-date information on the situation of children and women and measures key indicators that allow countries to monitor progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and other internationally agreed upon commitments.

The Northeast Zone Multiple Indicator Survey is a representative sample survey of 4,954 households, out of which 4,785 were successfully interviewed including 5,492 women age 15 – 49 years and 4,714 mothers and caretakers of children less than five years old. The primary purpose of MICS is to provide policy makers and planners with reliable and detailed information needed to monitor the situation of women and children. Information on nutrition, child health, water and sanitation, reproductive health, child development, literacy and education, child protection, HIV/AIDS and orphan hood and access to mass media and use of information/communication technology is included.

Geographic coverage

Northeast Zone

Analysis unit

• individuals
• households

Universe

The survey covered all de jure household members (usual residents), all women aged between 15-49 years, all children under 5 living in the household.

Kind of data

Sample survey data [ssd]

Sampling procedure

The primary objective of the sample design for the Northeast Zone Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey was to produce statistically reliable estimates of most indicators for the whole Northeast Zone, for urban and rural areas, and for the three regions (Bari, Nugal and Mudug) of the Zone. There were two main sampling strata: urban and rural areas.

A multi-stage, stratified cluster sampling approach was used for the selection of the survey sample.

The target sample size for the Northeast Zone MICS was calculated as 5,179 households. For the calculation of the sample size, the key indicator used was the polio immunization coverage for children aged 12 – 23 months.

The sampling frame was the list of settlements obtained from the 2005/2006 UNDP settlement census and which was updated in preparation for the Somalia population estimation survey. For each settlement, this list contained an estimated number of households and the classification by urban and rural.

Stratification consisted of separating urban and rural settlements within each region. Settlements were then used as primary sampling units and were selected with probability proportional to size, the size being the estimated number of households. Very large settlements were selected with certainty as selfrepresenting units (that is with probability equal to 1).

In rural areas and small towns, settlements with more than 200 households were divided into segments of which one was randomly selected. All households in the selected segment were listed to create a frame for the selection of 18 households at the second stage using systematic sampling.

For very large settlements, the list of villages and sections that comprised each settlement served as frame for the second stage selection (secondary sampling units). Each selected village and section was segmented if it contained more 200 households. One of the newly created segments was then randomly selected and all of the households it contained were listed. In the final stage, 18 households were selected from the household listing. In villages and sections containing 200 households or less, a complete household listing was carried out and 18 households were directly selected from the list of households.

The sampling procedures are more fully described in "Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey 2011 - Final Report" pp.123-124.

Mode of data collection

Face-to-face [f2f]

Research instrument

The questionnaires for the Generic MICS were structured questionnaires based on the MICS4 model questionnaire with some modifications and additions. Household questionnaires were administered in each household, which collected various information on household members including sex, age and relationship. The household questionnaire includes Household Listing Form, Education, Non Formal Education, Water and Sanitation, Household Characteristics, Insecticide Treated Nets, Indoor Residual Spraying, Child Labour, Child Discipline and Handwashing.

In addition to a household questionnaire, questionnaires were administered in each household for women age 15-49 and children under age five. For children, the questionnaire was administered to the mother or primary caretaker of the child.

The women's questionnaire includes Women's Background, Access to Mass Media and Use of Information/Communication Technology, Child Mortality with Birth History, Desire for Last Birth, Maternal and Newborn Health, Post-natal Health Checks, Illness Symptoms, Contraception, Unmet Need, Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting, Attitudes Towards Domestic Violence, Marriage/Union, and HIV/AIDS.

The children's questionnaire includes Child's age, Early childhood development, Breastfeeding, Care of illness, Malaria and Immunization.

The questionnaires are based on the MICS4 model questionnaire. From the MICS4 model English version, the questionnaires were translated into Somali and were pre-tested in Gabilely, Hargeisa during February 2011. Based on the results of the pre-test, modifications were made to the wording and translation of the questionnaires. In addition to the administration of questionnaires, fieldwork teams observed the place for hand washing.

The following modules were removed from the three sets of questionnaires each for the given reason. In the household questionnaire; - Salt iodisation module was removed because there is more recent data from the Micronutrient Survey of 2009.

In the questionnaire for women 15- 49 years; - Sexual behaviour module was not included as it was considered culturally sensitive in Somalia. Furthermore, it was not included in the 2006 MICS

In the questionnaire for children under five years; - Birth registration was omitted based on observations in MICS3 that there are very few births registered in Somaliland as most women gave birth at home. - The anthropometry module was excluded as there was more recent data in the micronutrient survey of 2009.

The following additions were made to the modules for specific questionnaires; In the questionnaire for children under five years - In the immunisation module treatment of diarrhoea using ORS distributed in the most recent Child Health Days i.e. December 2010 was added - In the same module the type of card in which child immunisation was recorded included additional type of cards from the 2009 and 2010 child health days.

In the household questionnaire - The Non Formal Education module was added. It was considered necessary to provide information for the continued intervention and support for Non Formal Education by the government and partners.

Cleaning operations

Data were entered using the CSPro software. The data were entered on 12 computers and carried out by 12 data entry operators and one data entry supervisor and one data manager. In order to ensure quality control, all questionnaires were double entered and internal consistency checks were performed. Procedures and standard programs developed under the global MICS4 programme and adapted to the Northeast Zone questionnaire were used throughout. Data entry began in Garowe at Puntland State University (PSU) two weeks into data collection in April 2011 but was stopped in June 2011 due to technical and logistical challenges – the university uses a generator which kept on break down and affecting data entry and some clerks were caught trying to shorten the time taken in entering data by skipping sections of the questionnaire. Following consultations between UNICEF country office, the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation in the Northeast Zone, it was decided to ship all the questionnaires to Nairobi and have data re-entered by a new set of data entry clerks. This second round of data entry started in September 2011 and was completed in January 2012. Data were analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software program, Version 18, and the model syntax and tabulation plans developed by UNICEF were used for this purpose.

Response rate

Of the 4,954 households selected for the sample, excluding the households in the 13 clusters that were not surveyed, 4,904 were found to be occupied. Of these, 4,785 were successfully interviewed for a household response rate of 97.6 percent. In the interviewed households, 5,839 women (age 15-49 years) were identified. Of these, 5,492 were successfully interviewed, yielding a response rate of 94.1 percent within interviewed households. There were 4,827 children under age five listed in the household questionnaire. Questionnaires were completed for 4,714 of these children, which corresponds to a response rate of 97.7 percent within interviewed households. Overall response rates of 91.8 and 95.3 are calculated for the women’s and under-5’s interviews respectively.

Sampling error estimates

Sampling errors are a measure of the variability between the estimates from all possible samples. The extent of variability is not known exactly, but can be estimated statistically from the survey data.

The following sampling error measures are presented in this appendix for each

Overview

At the end of the 2018 fiscal year, the U.S. had resettled 22,491 refugees -- a small fraction of the number of people who had entered in prior years. This is the smallest annual number of refugees since Congress passed a law in 1980 creating the modern resettlement system.

It's also well below the cap of 45,000 set by the administration for 2018, and less than thirty percent of the number granted entry in the final year of Barack Obama’s presidency. It's also significantly below the cap for 2019 announced by President Trump's administration, which is 30,000.

The Associated Press is updating its data on refugees through fiscal year 2018, which ended Sept. 30, to help reporters continue coverage of this story. Previous Associated Press data on refugees can be found here.

Data obtained from the State Department's Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration show the mix of refugees also has changed substantially:

• The numbers of Iraqi, Somali and Syrian refugees -- who made up more than a third of all resettlements in the U.S. in the prior five years -- have almost entirely disappeared. Refugees from those three countries comprise about two percent of the 2018 resettlements.
• In 2018, Christians have made up more than sixty percent of the refugee population, while the share of Muslims has dropped from roughly 45 percent of refugees in fiscal year 2016 to about 15 percent. (This data is not available at the city or state level.)
• Of the states that usually average at least 100 resettlements, Maine, Louisiana, Michigan, Florida, California, Oklahoma and Texas have seen the largest percentage decreases in refugees. All have had their refugee caseloads drop more than 75% when comparing 2018 to the average over the previous five years (2013-2017).

The past fiscal year marks a dramatic change in the refugee program, with only a fraction as many people entering. That affects refugees currently in the U.S., who may be waiting on relatives to arrive. It affects refugees in other countries, hoping to get to the United States for safety or other reasons. And it affects the organizations that work to house and resettle these refugees, who only a few years ago were dealing with record numbers of people. Several agencies have already closed their doors; others have laid off workers and cut back their programs.

Because there is wide geographic variations on resettlement depending on refugees' country of origin, some U.S. cities have been more affected by this than others. For instance, in past years, Iraqis have resettled most often in San Diego, Calif., or Houston. Now, with only a handful of Iraqis being admitted in 2018, those cities have seen some of the biggest drop-offs in resettlement numbers.

About This Data

Datasheets include:

• Annual_refugee_data: This provides the rawest form of the data from Oct. 1, 2008 – Sept. 30, 2018, where each record is a combination of fiscal year, city for refugee arrivals to a specific city and state and from a specific origin. Also provides annual totals for the state.
• City_refugees: This provides data grouped by city for refugee arrivals to a specific city and state and from a specific origin, showing totals for each year next to each other in different columns, so you can quickly see trends over time. Data is from Oct. 1, 2008 – Sept. 30, 2018, grouped by fiscal year. It also compares 2018 numbers to a five-year average from 2013-2017.
• City_refugees_and_foreign_born_proportions: This provides the data in City_refugees along with data that gives context to the origins of the foreign born populations living in each city. There are regional columns, sub-regional columns and a column specific to the origin listed in the refugee data. Data is from the American Community Survey 5-year 2013-2017 Table B05006: PLACE OF BIRTH FOR THE FOREIGN-BORN POPULATION. ### Caveats According to the State Department: "This data tracks the movement of refugees from various countries around the world to the U.S. for resettlement under the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program." The data does not include other types of immigration or visits to the U.S.

The data tracks the refugees' stated destination in the United States. In many cases, this is where the refugees first lived, although many may have since moved.

Be aware that some cities with particularly high totals may be the locations of refugee resettlement programs -- for instance, Glendale, Calif., is home to both Catholic Charities of Los Angeles and the International Rescue Committee of Los Angeles, which work at resettling refugees.

About Refugee Resettlement

The data for refugees from other countries - or for any particular timeframe since 2002 - can be accessed through the State Department's Refugee Processing Center's site by clicking on "Arrivals by Destination and Nationality."

The Refugee Processing Center used to publish a state-by-state list of affiliate refugee organizations -- the groups that help refugees settle in the U.S. That list was last updated in January 2017, so it may now be out of date. It can be found here.

For general information about the U.S. refugee resettlement program, see this State Department description. For more detailed information about the program and proposed 2018 caps and changes, see the FY 2018 Report to Congress.

Queries

The Associated Press has set up a number of pre-written queries to help you filter this data and find local stories. Queries can be accessed by clicking on their names in the upper right hand bar.

• Find Cities Impacted - Most Change -- Use this query to see the cities that have seen the largest drop-offs in refugee resettlements. Creates a five-year average of how many refugees of a certain origin have come in the past, and then measures 2018 by that. Be wary of small raw numbers when considering the percentages!
• Total Refugees for Each City in Your State -- Use this query to get the number of total refugees who've resettled in your state's cities by year.
• Total Refugees in Your State -- Use this query to get the number of total refugees who've resettled in your state by year.
• Changes in Origin over Time -- Use this query to track how many refugees are coming from each origin by year. The initial query provides national numbers, but can be filtered for state or even for city.
• Extract Raw Data for Your State -- Use this query to type in your state name to extract and download just the data in your state. This is the raw data from the State Department, so it may be slightly more difficult to see changes over time. ###### Contact AP Data Journalist Michelle Minkoff with questions, mminkoff@ap.org